John Deere establishes strategic agreement with MacDon

OLATHE, Kansas (January 27, 2012) - John Deere announced today it has established a strategic agreement with MacDon Industries Ltd. to better serve existing and future John Deere self-propelled windrower customers globally.

“This agreement allows us to expand the John Deere hay and forage product portfolio to better serve our dairy, livestock, commercial hay, and small grains customers,” said William F. Norton, Vice President, Global Hay & Forage Platform. “After an in-depth evaluation of the global commercial hay and small grains industries, we determined that specific MacDon self-propelled windrower products would most effectively enable us to serve our customers and expand our overall product line-up.”

As part of the agreement, MacDon will manufacture select models of John Deere-branded self-propelled windrowers, including draper and auger headers, and pull-type auger mower conditioners. John Deere will also continue to manufacture select models, offering dealers and customers an expanded product line of self-propelled windrowers.

“The entire windrower product line-up will be fully supported by the John Deere dealer channel,” said Derek P. Boudreau, Global Director Baling & Mowing. “John Deere will also integrate the full product portfolio into our sales, service and parts processes to offer world-class service to hay and forage customers around the world.”

“This is a very logical step in a relationship that goes back over 30 years,” said Allan MacDonald, President & CEO of MacDon. “We are excited about the opportunity to work with Deere in bringing some of the best windrowing products available to these market sectors.”

More details about the availability of products evolving from this agreement will be announced later this summer.

MacDon Industries Ltd. is a family-owned manufacturer of harvesting equipment specializing in the production of pull-type and self-propelled windrowers and specialty and pick-up headers for combines for world markets. Based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, with facilities in the United States, Australia and Russia, MacDon employs over 1,400 people. MacDon has been designing, manufacturing and perfecting harvesting machines for more than 60 years with the goal to make harvesting easier and more productive.

Deere & Company is a world leader in providing advanced products and services and is committed to the success of customers whose work is linked to the land — those who cultivate, harvest, transform, enrich and build upon the land to meet the world's dramatically increasing need for food, fuel, shelter and infrastructure.